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I don't see why this would be an issue, unless you know that you will be unsafe driving with that level of sleep. You can also always pull over and take a snooze in your car, at the ferry dock, on the boat, etc. What are your alternatives? Stay in Bellingham? Not go home?

Hotel won't work well, since check in isn't until 2 or 3pm - you would have to check in via cc in order to crash for a nap in the morning and then check out by 11am or noon (depending on hotel) or pay for 2 nights.

I don't think the crossing would be that bad in the morning. I think it is doable.

The Bellingham airport is on the north side of Bellingham, so there's not a whole lot of traffic to worry about. It's about a half-hour from there to the border, then another half-hour to the Tsawassen-Swartz Bay ferry. You can snooze on the ferry (90 minute crossing) and from there it's less than a half-hour to downtown Victoria, less if you live in the north or northeast areas of greater Victoria.

I'd also try to grab some sleep on the 5-plus hours on the plane from Honolulu.

LOL, we had forgotten that we will have been actuallyu en route for over 24hrs by the time we land as we get into Honolulu at 7am the previous day (we are visiting friends for the day so no chance of sleep then!) So, driving as soon as we land is not a great idea for us.

Anyone know if there is a taxi or limo service that offers service from Bellingham airport to the border or even preferably to downtown Vancouver? We have used the Quick Shuttle before but their schedule is too tight for us (8:25am from Bellingham). We could wait around for the next shuttle or catch the Amtrak but not keen on the idea of having to hang around.

I e-mailed several hotels but it looks like our option is to either book for the night before to be sure of a room waiting for us or we would just book a room for the day we arrive and hang around in a lobby area until one became available.

So now we are thinking get to Vancouver as soon as possible and book into a room there. And so, wondering what taxi options there might be.

Yes, the flying before Honolulu is a tiny factor you left out :-) I certainly wouldn't do it, but maybe you sleep like a baby on planes. You could call some hotels and see if they have "day room" options. Checking in as early as noon is often possible with just regular rates. If you were flying into SeaTac, I'd suggest considering taking the train to Vancouver and then making your way by ferry to Victoria (if you didn't have your own cat at Bellingham).